1Samuel tog nu sin olieflaske og hældte olien ud over Sauls hoved. Så kyssede han ham på kinden og sagde: „Jeg salver dig, fordi Herren har udpeget dig til at være leder for Israel, hans ejendomsfolk.2Når du går herfra, vil du træffe to mænd ved Rakels grav i Zeltza i Benjamins land. De vil fortælle dig, at æslerne er fundet, og at din far nu er bekymret for dig og tænker: ‚Hvad er der dog blevet af min søn?’3Og når du kommer til egetræet ved byen Tabor, vil du møde tre mænd, der er på vej til Betel for at tilbede Herren. Den ene af mændene har tre gedekid med sig. Den anden medbringer tre brød og den tredje en lædersæk med vin.4Mændene vil hilse på dig og tilbyde dig to af brødene, og dem skal du tage imod.5Derefter kommer du til den hellige by Geba,[1] hvor filistrenes garnison ligger. Der vil du møde en flok profeter, som er på vej ned fra offerhøjen. De spiller på harpe, tamburin, fløjte og lyre, mens de profeterer.6Da vil Herrens Ånd komme over dig så stærkt, at du begynder at profetere sammen med dem, og du bliver et helt nyt menneske.7Når disse ting er sket, kan du trygt gøre, hvad du finder rigtigt, for Gud er med dig.8Gå derefter ned til Gilgal og vent på mig i syv dage, så kommer jeg for at ofre brændofre og takofre, og så vil jeg sige dig, hvad du skal gøre.”9Da Saul tog afsked med Samuel og begyndte på hjemrejsen, ændrede Gud hans indstilling, og alle Samuels forudsigelser gik i opfyldelse samme dag.10Da Saul og hans tjener var nået næsten frem til Geba, kom nogle profeter dem i møde. Og Guds Ånd kom over Saul, så han begyndte at profetere.11Da de, som kendte Saul, så, hvad der gik for sig, udbrød de: „Hvad går der af Kish’ søn? Er Saul nu også blevet en af profeterne?”12En mand der fra stedet svarede: „Hvem har ansvar for dem?”[2] Derfor blev det et stående udtryk: „Er Saul nu også blevet profet?”13Da Saul holdt op med at profetere, gik han op på offerhøjen.14Da han kom hjem, spurgte hans farbror: „Hvor i alverden har du været henne?” „Ude og lede efter æslerne,” svarede Saul. „Men vi kunne ikke finde dem. Derfor opsøgte vi profeten Samuel for at finde ud af, hvor de var.”15„Aha!” udbrød onklen. „Og hvad sagde Samuel så?”16„At æslerne var i god behold,” svarede Saul uden at fortælle noget om, at Samuel også havde salvet ham til konge.17Samuel kaldte derefter Israels folk sammen i Mitzpa,18-19og dér gav han dem følgende budskab fra Herren: „Det var mig, som førte jer ud af Egypten og befriede jer fra egypterne. Det var også mig, der frelste jer fra alle de folk, der pinte og plagede jer. Men selvom jeg har gjort så meget for jer, har I forkastet mig og sagt: ‚Vi vil have en konge i stedet.’ Godt, så træd frem for mig, stamme for stamme og slægt for slægt.”20Samuel bad først alle stammeoverhovederne om at træde frem for Herren, og det hellige lod faldt på Benjamins stamme.21Så trådte alle slægtsoverhovederne fra Benjamins stamme frem for Herren, og det hellige lod faldt på Matris slægt. Sådan fortsatte lodkastningen, indtil det hellige lod ramte Kish’ søn, Saul. Men da de ledte efter ham, var han forsvundet.22Så spurgte de Herren: „Er han her til stede?” Herren svarede: „Ja, han har gemt sig ovre ved våbenlageret.”23De fandt ham snart og trak ham frem fra hans skjulested, og da han stod oprejst i deres midte, var han et hoved højere end alle de andre.24Da sagde Samuel til folket: „Det er den mand, som Herren har udpeget til konge over jer. Der findes ingen som ham i hele Israel.” Og folket råbte: „Kongen længe leve!”25Derefter mindede Samuel igen folket om en konges rettigheder og pligter, og han skrev det hele ned og gemte bogen på et helligt sted. Så sendte han folket hjem.26Da Saul den dag vendte hjem til Gibea, blev han ledsaget af nogle tapre krigere, hvis hjerter Gud havde rørt.27Men der var også nogle ondsindede mænd, som protesterede: „Hvordan vil den fyr frelse os?” De foragtede ham og bragte ham ingen gaver. Men Saul lod som ingenting.
1Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince[1] over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince[2] over his heritage. (5.Mos 32,9; 1.Sam 9,16; 1.Sam 16,13; 2.Sam 2,4; 1.Kong 1,34; 1.Kong 1,39; 2.Kong 9,1; 2.Kong 9,3; 2.Kong 9,6; Salm 2,12; Salm 78,71)2When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ (1.Mos 35,19; 1.Sam 9,3; 1.Sam 9,5)3Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. (1.Mos 13,18; 1.Mos 28,22; 1.Mos 35,1; 1.Mos 35,3; 1.Mos 35,7; Dom 20,31)4And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand.5After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim,[3] where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. (1.Sam 9,12; 1.Sam 10,10; 1.Sam 13,3)6Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. (4.Mos 11,25; Dom 3,10; Dom 14,6; Dom 14,19; 1.Sam 10,10; 1.Sam 11,6; 1.Sam 16,13; 1.Sam 19,23)7Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. (2.Mos 4,8; Josva 1,5; Dom 6,12; Dom 6,17; Luk 2,12)8Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.” (1.Sam 11,14; 1.Sam 11,15; 1.Sam 13,4; 1.Sam 13,8)9When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day.10When they came to Gibeah,[4] behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. (1.Sam 10,5; 1.Sam 10,6)11And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1.Sam 19,24; Matt 13,54; Joh 7,15)12And a man of the place answered, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1.Sam 10,11; Es 54,13; Joh 6,45)13When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.14Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” (1.Sam 9,4; 1.Sam 14,50)15And Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.”16And Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything. (1.Sam 9,20)
Saul Proclaimed King
17Now Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah. (1.Sam 7,5; 1.Sam 11,15)18And he said to the people of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ (Dom 6,8; 1.Sam 12,8)19But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.” (Josva 24,1; 1.Sam 8,7; 1.Sam 8,19; 1.Sam 12,12)20Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. (Josva 7,14; Josva 7,16)21He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by lot;[5] and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found.22So they inquired again of the Lord, “Is there a man still to come?” and the Lord said, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” (1.Sam 22,10)23Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. (1.Sam 9,2)24And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!” (2.Sam 16,16; 2.Sam 21,6; 1.Kong 1,25; 1.Kong 1,39; 2.Kong 11,12; 2.Krøn 23,11)25Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home. (5.Mos 17,14; 1.Sam 8,11)26Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. (1.Sam 11,4)27But some worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace. (5.Mos 13,13; 1.Sam 2,12)